The first of 28 wind turbines at the Te Uku wind farm is now generating electricity, eight weeks ahead of schedule. The power is being sent to the Waikato on the new WEL Networks line which runs from the Te Uku wind farm to Te Kowhai in the Waikato.When the wind is blowing strongly, one turbine at maximum capacity can generate up to 2.3MWs of electricity, enough to power the homes in and around a large area of the town of Te Kowhai.
The commissioning of the turbine will see New Zealand’s total wind capacity shift to over 500 MWs.
According to the Wind Energy Association, before Te Uku’s first turbine was commissioned the total capacity stood at 497.8 MW. Now with the first Te Uku turbine operating this is tipped to 500.1 MWs.
Meridian’s Te Uku Project Manager, Robert Batters, says the wind farm is generating its first power just days after the one year anniversary of work commencing on site and eight weeks ahead of the original project schedule.
“We’re really pleased with the progress our team has made. Not only have we delivered on our timelines, in many cases we’ve exceeded them.”
The wind farm project commenced construction in November 2009 and is a joint alliance between Meridian Energy and community-trust owned electricity lines company, WEL Networks.
“Over 50 percent of the project work force is from the Waikato, with 64 people coming from the Raglan area. Every one of them has contributed in some way toward getting our first turbine on line ahead of schedule,” says Mr Batters.
“Meeting and exceeding the targets all comes down to every member of the team working smart and hard every step of the way and they should be proud of what they’ve achieved so far,” he says.
Most of the 28 wind turbines will be situated on a block of land owned by Te Uku farmer Maurice Vanhoutte.
“A few years back, I thought I would put up a turbine to generate power for our farming operation,” says Mr Vanhoutte. “At that time, I spoke to WEL Networks about the possibility of selling them any of the excess power I generated, thinking it would be a way to supplement my farm income.
“The idea for the Te Uku wind farm just grew from this original thought, through many conversations and a lot of planning. Now the project is finally generating power. It’s great to know the wind farm is providing an energy resource that will benefit not only the people of Raglan, but also the rest of the country,” says Mr Vanhoutte.
WEL Networks CEO Dr Julian Elder says the wind farm’s generation milestone is a significant one for the company.
“It’s been a long road to get to where we are today, including seven years of planning, feasibility studies and consenting. WEL, as Meridian’s alliance partner, is excited to have played a major role in bringing the Waikato region its first wind farm. To see the first turbine generating power is a great sense of accomplishment for our staff.”
Subsequent wind turbines at the Te Uku wind farm will progressively begin generating power once they have been constructed and commissioned. Upon completion, the 28 wind turbines will generate up to 64.4MWs of electricity, enough to power around 30,000 average New Zealand homes when the wind is blowing strongly.